In the wake of increased governmental scrutiny of popular video-sharing app TikTok, its CEO will be facing a Congressional hearing in March to address questions and concerns.
The hearing, led by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, will be focused on the threat posed by TikTok due to its parent company being based in China. The U.S. government has expressed concern over the app as a security threat, with President Donald Trump threatening to ban it if Chinese based parent company, ByteDance, does not comply.
The CEO of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, is expected to testify before the International Relations Committee. He will be joined by TikTok’s global head of security, Roland Cloutier, who will discuss the security protocols and processes in place to keep user data safe.
This hearing is of great importance as the U.S. government has become increasingly concerned with potential data mining risks posed by using the app. It is feared that TikTok may be allowing access to U.S. user data to the Chinese government, which may lead to a divisive political landscape.
It is also important to note that TikTok has had a long history of controversy. The app, which is immensely popular among young people, has been subject to heavy censorship by the Chinese government, which has created backlash around the world.
The hearing is set to take place on March 11th, 2021. It is expected to be a major political event and will likely set the tone for the future of TikTok. The fate of the app could be decided by how effective the CEO’s testimony is in assuaging security fears, as well as the extent to which the app has been and is being utilized for data mining.
